Job, in his response to his friend, got into a deep discussion of life after death. This daily devotional looks at where we go when we die and in what condition.
Nuggets
- After death, our souls will continue to live.
- Scriptures really don’t tell us what happens between death and resurrection.
- We are going to live for eternity.
Devotions in the Job: The Ultimate Test of Character series
Is there life after death? Or are we just worm food? Those are hard questions for some.
They can be hard questions for disciples right after a loved one dies. Satan is trying to slip in all these doubts.
Munger wrote, “It is a strange fact that the human mind has always held to the immortality of the soul, and yet has always doubted it; always believing, but always haunted by doubt.”
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Satan wants us to question — and ultimately deny — God.
God promises us that there is life after death. Let’s see how Job processed his thoughts about this.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Where Do We Go When We Die?
“There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, the scent of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last — where is he?” (Job 14: 7-10 CSB)
After death, our souls will continue to live.
I have several house plants. They are on a strict ice cube diet so that I don’t overwater them.
Adam got a type of begonia from the church when his dad died. I at first thought it was fake. Then, it took a while to get the ice cube ratio right. Then I had to cut it back.
Yep, I killed it. Sorta.
The top part was dead. The roots were still alive. At least, I hoped. I kept watering as if they were.
We now have a good start to a “new” plant because the roots sprouted again.
But what about humans? We don’t have roots. What happens when we die?
When our heart stops beating, our bodies are still here. Is that it? Nothing?
Watt gave us a list of why we could believe death is not the end.
- Force or energy never ends.
- This life is not complete.
- “The best affections which distinguish this life speak of continuance beyond this present state.”
- Judgment still has to occur.
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Windle was correct when he said our actions do not always reflect our belief that all men die. That means us, too, so we need to act like death is coming.
It is easy for some to believe, after someone else is gone, that they were never here. But we know life is valuable to God.
We must remember that Jesus conquered death. Windle wrote, “It is of the greatest importance for us all to know that through the infinite merits of our gracious Redeemer the power of death has been broken and subdued, and the sting of death which is sin has been extracted, and thus may death become not an enemy but a welcome friend to introduce us to new, to holy, to immortal life.”
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Scriptures tells us. “One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried” (Lk. 16: 22 CSB). They died, and they went places based on their relationships with God.
I know. An argument can be made that saying Lazarus went to be with Abraham tells us nothing. Abraham was a human just like us, so where did he go? We kind of have to piece it together.
- “And being in torment in Hades, he [the rich guy] looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side” (Lk. 16: 23 CSB).
- “For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecc. 12: 7 NLT).
- “Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4: 17 CSB).
So, the rich man was alive in hell/Hades and saw Lazarus and Abraham alive in the place beyond the great divide. That place was where God is. God is in Heaven.
When we die, the angels take those who have believed to Heaven. We will live with God for eternity.
Those who don’t believe will spend eternity in hell.
What is being taken is our soul. Our soul is our spiritual part that is immortal. Vaughan said that because the soul is eternal, it continues to think and feel.
The Sleep Component of Eternity
“As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry, so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep” (Job 14: 11-12 CSB)
Scriptures really don’t tell us what happens between death and resurrection.
There are a lot of questions about what happens after death. Do we go straight to Heaven? Is there some sort of purgatory? Are we in a sort of sleep until the resurrection?
Hallam felt Scriptures didn’t really give us a clear description of what was going to happen between death and the resurrection. He felt that, “At death we enter upon a disembodied state of being, a state of life purely spiritual and immaterial.”
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The theory that Hallam championed was that we will be “sleeping” between death and resurrection.
Cole argued that, while death looks like sleep, the soul is incapable of sleep. The way I read it is he thought the soul would be conscious.
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No, we aren’t really sure what we will be changed to, but we do know it will be something spiritual.
Woods told us not to worry about that. He wrote, “It is not so much ‘where,’ as ‘what’; for the ‘what’ determines the ‘where.’ We are ourselves determining the ‘what,’ in our acceptance or rejection of Christ.”
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Eyre said something similar. He wrote, “Death brings a change of condition, never a change of character. Though death is a change of condition, it is not a change of companionship.”
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Whatever character we possess when we die is what we will have throughout eternity. That character must be like God’s, or we haven’t demonstrated our desire to imitate Him.
We have to be fit for God’s companionship at the point of death. The “… changed in a twinkling of an eye …” (I Thess. 15: 52 NIV) doesn’t mean our character and destiny will be changed after death.
Our eternity is set at death.
Do We Come Back to Life after Death?
“If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me. When a person dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes” (Job 14: 13-14 CSB)
We are going to live for eternity.
Job knew that God was in control. He has a plan and has an appointed time for everything.
Hancock was cute. He said that the “When a person dies, will he come back to life? …” (Job 14: 14 CSB) question was just a form of Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s question of “To be or not to be?”
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But don’t we all ask that at some point or another? Sometimes, several points. Sometimes, with a variety of emotions backing it.
Hancock posited that there are three answers to the will-we-come-back-to-life question.
The ‘No’ Answer
Atheists probably hope this is the answer. If no one comes back to life after death — or transition from one status to the other — there won’t be any judgment.
This life wouldn’t be the preparation for that life if everything ends at death. If that is the case, salvation would be a lie. Character wouldn’t be important.
The Homiletic Monthly felt this choice was chosen because they are waiting for proof. They are wanting science to figure out all the answers to the questions — so they have proof that all of this was the work done by someone or something other than a Sovereign God.
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There is another no answer. No, this world is not going to survive, and cows aren’t going to bring it down. No, our lives aren’t going to just go on for eternity as they are.
The ‘Doesn’t Matter” Answer
Secularists probably hope this is the answer. I guess they think it is going to be okay in the end.
They see God — if they see Him at all — as a loving God Who will never send anyone to hell. They don’t get it that we send ourselves.
They are in for a rude awakening.
The ‘Yes’ Answer
Disciples know this is the answer to the question. We are going to live for eternity. God is going to judge us on the answer to one question: Have we ABCDed or not?
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Our answer to that determines our new residence — Heaven or hell.
Character matters. Our purity matters.
It leads to perfection.
Cushman felt judgment — true judgment — cannot occur in this life. He wrote, “Vice is seldom punished as it deserves, and rarer still does virtue meet its due reward. If death is an eternal sleep, and man’s life ends with the tomb, how shall we reconcile his present condition with the justice of God?”
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Pierson argued that our souls long for immortality. Jesus clearly said there would be a resurrection. “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Mt. 22: 30 NIV).
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Think about it. There has to be something more than this. Our rewards aren’t up to the level of heavenly rewards. Not all non-believers have received a judgment that is commensurate with their crimes.
There has to be something more.
Besides. Scriptures tell us that the worldview isn’t the same as the Godview. If the rewards and judgment occurred only here, it would be based on the worldview. As much as some would love for that to happen, it isn’t going to.
Making the Connections
Pierson noted that “He [Jesus] teaches that souls in heaven live under new and unearthly conditions; and so God is the God of the living, not the dead.”
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This doesn’t mean we are going to be under different laws and commandments than we are now. Those show us God’s character. God doesn’t change.
Oh, we probably will do things differently than we do now. We will do them as God intended in the Garden of Eden.
Cushman reminded us that God always has a purpose in everything He does. We have to determine His purposes.
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How Do We Apply This?
- Be humble.
- Know the importance of time.
- Vaughan wrote, “Learn the nature of sin, the infinite evil, and the awful consequences of it.”
- Remember, God will judge in the end.
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We just have to read the Scriptures to get the answer to Job’s questions. Yes, there is life after death. We want to make sure we are on God’s side of the equation rather than Satan’s.
Father God. You have made us in Your image. Because of that, we will live forever. Where we live depends on our relationships with You. Bring us closer to You and being like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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